Responsibly Sourced Goose Down

Like many of our customers, we at Katabatic Gear are concerned with the environmental and animal welfare impact of our products. We are dedicated to a responsibly sourced, and very high quality product, just like our goose down supplier, Allied Feather and Down. They are certified through both the bluesign® and Responsible Down Standard® programs. Another reason we partner with Allied: we can offer our customers access to the Track My Down program. It allows our customers to learn everything there is to know about the down in their specific sleeping quilt. For more information, please follow these links to Allied’s Pledge, FAQ’s, and Track My Down pages.

900 Fill Power Goose Down

We use the highest quality 900 Fill Power goose down, offering the most loft and warmth for the least weight. Goose down has many advantages over synthetic insulations. In warm temperatures goose down allows heat to pass through, giving it a wider comfort range than synthetic insulation. The down can be moved around in its baffles, allowing you to adjust the amount of insulation based on conditions. Finally, synthetic insulation breaks down with use, losing loft and warmth. As a result a down filled product has a life span many times that of a synthetic filled product, making down a much better value. Our 900 Fill Power premium goose down is produced for us here in the U.S. by Allied Feather.

850 Fill Power Water-Resistant Goose Down

We are pleased to offer 850 Fill Power hydrophobic goose down. This down has been treated to provide additional resistance to unwanted moisture. In conjunction with our highly water-resistant shell materials, our hydrophobic down provides extra peace of mind, and dries faster than untreated down if it does get wet. Is this a miracle water-proofing that will allow you to sleep out in the rain or dunk your bag in water with wild abandon? No. Will it give you extra protection and help maintain loft in damp conditions? Absolutely! Our water-resistant down is bluesign® approved, so you can rest assured that it is safe for the environment and human health. Produced for us here in the U.S. by Allied Feather.

Pertex Quantum Ripstop .85oz/yd

We use this ultralight Pertex Quantum as the shell fabric on our sleeping bags. Pertex Quantum fabric is down proof, very breathable, and features the best DWR treatment we have seen. This fabric’s low weight and high thread count give it a soft hand that allows our premium down to loft better than a heavier, stiffer fabric would. You get the best of both worlds: reduced weight and increased loft and warmth. While this advanced material is very strong for its weight, care should be taken to protect it from abrasion and tears.

Pertex Quantum Taffeta

This Pertex Quantum with a plain weave makes for a silky soft liner fabric on the inside of our sleeping bags. Weighing in at 1.0oz/yd, this fabric is lightweight but strong, and features the same excellent DWR finish that comes on all our Pertex fabrics.

Quilt Style Sleeping Bag

The idea behind a quilt style sleeping bag is to eliminate the insulation that is on the bottom of a conventional sleeping bag. With a conventional sleeping bag, any insulation under your body is crushed. Since insulation must have loft and trap air to be effective, the crushed insulation under your body is wasted. So why not leave the insulation out of the bottom of the bag?
That is what a quilt style sleeping bag does, but it goes one step further. By eliminating the zipper, and leaving the bottom of the bag open, versatility is significantly increased. The sleeping bag can act as a simple blanket, laid over you on a warm night; or a mummy, closed up snugly against the cold; or anything in between.

With a quilt style sleeping bag you make the most of your sleeping pad, both for comfort, as well as for insulation. And with our unique attachment system, your sleeping bag stays on top of your pad, where it belongs. Other quilt style sleeping bags attach under your sleeping pad, causing inefficient draft tunnels, or attach around your body, restricting your movement while you sleep.

Attachment System

The backbone of our quilt style sleeping bags is our patented Cord Clip attachment system. The beauty of this design is its simplicity. All our bags feature our Cord Clips, and come with 2mm cord for attaching the sleeping bag to the pad. Simply tie the cords around the pad, and attach your bag! Got a Backpacking Light® Torsolight™ pad? Therm-A-Rest® NeoAir™? No problem! This system works easily with any sleeping pad.

Our Cord Clips feature two attachment points for maximum versatility. The first attachment position allows the clip to slide freely on the cord. For warm weather this gives you the most freedom of movement. As the temperature drops, clipping into the second position allows you to lock the bag in place on the cord. In this position you can control the girth of the bag, and are able to set the bag to overlap your pad to lock out drafts. Even with the Cord Clip in this position, adjustment along the cord is easily accomplished by lifting the Cord Clip vertically. With the Cord Clip held vertically it slides easily along the cord. Returning the clip to its horizontal position locks the Cord Clip in place along the cord. This allows you to adjust the interior volume of the sleeping bag, as well as adjust the bags position on top of the sleeping pad. Secondary clips help seal out drafts when the temperature really drops.

This unique design offers significant advantages. The ability to attach your sleeping bag to the top of the pad, as well as the ability to easily adjust the girth/volume of the bag, allows you to optimize the position of the bag depending on your sleep position, and the level of warmth you need from your bag. In warm weather you have much more room than you are used to in a mummy bag. In cold weather just close the bag in around you for maximum warmth.

Katabatic Gear’s Quilts: Attach on top of your sleeping pad for maximum warmth

Other quilt style sleeping bags strap under a sleeping pad instead of on top of the pad as our system does. This leaves a large draft tunnel inside the bag, particularly if you are a side sleeper. Your precious body heat is spent trying to warm this draft tunnel, which leaves less body heat for you. This design can also cause compressed insulation at your shoulder and hip. All this conspires to leave you cold.

We have engineered our Cord Clips to be strong and durable, while being thin and unobtrusive. Even if you have your sleeping bag pulled in under your body, our Cord Clips are designed to lie flat and to be unnoticeable.

Our Cord Clip system is fast, simple and easy to use. Tie the cords around your pad before you leave home. Then just lay out your pad, clip your bag on to it, adjust as needed, and sleep!

Differential Cut

Our sleeping bags feature a substantial differential cut, which is highly beneficial in a quilt style sleeping bag that has adjustable girth. The shell fabric is cut wider than the liner fabric, making the circumference of the shell larger than that of the liner. This means that when you start to draw the bag in more tightly, you will not crush the insulation. It is important to remember that even with a large differential cut, if you pull the bag too tightly around yourself, you can start to crush the insulation and lose loft and warmth.

Continuous Baffles

The baffles in our sleeping bags are continuous from one side of the bag to the other. In the lower leg and foot area they are continuous all the way around the bag. This allows down to be moved to the top or the bottom of the bag as necessary. On warm nights, you can move the down to the bottom, giving yourself less insulation. On cold nights, move more down to the top of the bag for more warmth. This works particularly well with quilt style sleeping bags, where the same part of the bag is always on top, no matter how you lie inside the bag.

Down Collar

Our sleeping bags feature an overstuffed down collar around the neck opening. This is a critical area to seal the warmth inside your sleeping bag. Our collar fits comfortably against your neck, and keeps the warm air where it belongs: inside your sleeping bag.

Trapezoidal Foot Box

Optimized for when you need the most room down there, lying on your back, our trapezoidal foot box fits great no matter what position you are lying in. Giving you enough room to wear down booties to bed, but not so much room as to waste your body heat. Plus we overstuff the baffles over the foot section to provide extra warmth. Our goal is simple: we want you to have warm, happy feet while you sleep.

Separate Hood

When you think about it, a separate hood really makes sense. Your sleeping bag stays in place on top of your pad; your hood stays in place on top of your head. You are not going to wake up in the middle of the night, lost somewhere in your mummy bag, wondering which way leads out.

Do you need a hood? Here is what we have found: if temperatures are going to be near the temperature rating of your bag, then you will probably need a hood. If the forecast calls for warmer weather, leave the hood at home, and just wear a warm hat to bed. Looking to save weight and get the most use out of minimal gear? Take a warm jacket with a hood, and wear that to bed if the weather is cold. You keep your head warm, and add extra warmth to your entire sleep system.

Bivy Sack in Conjunction with Sleeping Bag

Our water resistant, highly breathable bivy sacks are designed for use under a tarp or floorless shelter. These bivy sacks provide a waterproof floor, full bug protection, and a water resistant upper to protect your sleeping bag from spray and mist. Our bivy sacks are designed to integrate perfectly with our bags. Simply tie your pad to the floor of the bivy through the pad attachment points, then clip your bag on to these same cords. Your pad stays in place in the bivy; your bag stays in place on the pad. Leave your pad tied into the bivy and setup the next night is a breeze.

The System as a Whole

What does it all mean? Set up and adjustment are quick and simple. The sleeping bag stays where it is supposed to: on top of your pad. The hood stays where it is supposed to: on your head. All our components are designed to work together, but the system is also designed to make the most of gear you already have. Use your hooded jacket or a warm hat on cold nights, or the bivy or tent you already own. All in all, you are making the most out of every piece of gear, while resting comfortably no matter what position you sleep in.

The bottom line? Our sleep system is much more versatile than any conventional sleeping bag, and it weighs a lot less!

1 review for Alsek 22°F

5 out of 5

David Marshall – August 21, 2016:

Purchased the Alsek this July and finally had my first trip with it to Maxwell Lake in Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness. It did not get below freezing, so I’ll have to wait to test the 22 degree rating.

I can say that it is light and packs very well. The attachment system works excellently as advertised. I tossed and turned quite a lot and the quilt always stayed in place. It was very comfortable to sleep under and easy to snug up as the evening got cooler.

Worth the price and is now my go to bag for 3 plus seasons and early summer climbing on the Cascade volcanoes.